The Estonian Centre Party (KESK) has lost public backing, according to a poll by TNS Emor. 28 per cent of respondents would vote for the Baltic country’s main opposition party in the next legislative election, down seven points since December.
The ruling Estonian Reform Party (ER) is now in the lead with 30 per cent, up one point since December. The Social Democratic Party (SDE) is third with 13 per cent, followed by the Union of Fatherland and Res Publica (IRPL) with 12 per cent, the Estonian Greens (EER) with nine per cent, and the Estonian People’s Union (ERL) with six per cent.
In March 2007, a legislative election took place in Estonia. Final results placed the ER in first place with 27.8 per cent of the vote, followed by the KESK with 26.1 per cent, and the IRPL with 17.9 per cent. In early April, the ER, the IRPL and the SDE agreed to form a government. ER leader Andrus Ansip retained his post as prime minister.
On Feb. 20, Estonia’s government survived a no-confidence motion on its proposed "austerity" budget. Lawmakers supported Ansip’s proposed cuts in spending, which aim at allowing the country to meet established criteria and eventually adopt the euro currency.
Moments before the vote, Estonian finance minister Ivari Padar declared: "The government has only one way to behave in this situation: to ensure the state would be able to keep its main promise to own citizens and economic environment, keeping the value of the kroon without laying a huge debt burden on the next generations."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next parliamentary election ?
| Jan. 2009 | Dec. 2008 | Sept. 2008 | |
| Estonian Reform Party (ER) | 30% | 29% | 34% |
| Estonian Centre Party (KESK) | 28% | 35% | 26% |
| Social Democratic Party (SDE) | 13% | 8% | 12% |
| Union of Fatherland and Res Publica (IRPL) | 12% | 13% | 15% |
| Estonian Greens (EER) | 9% | 8% | 7% |
| Estonian People’s Union (ERL) | 6% | 4% | 5% |
Source : TNS Emor
Methodology : Interviews with 1,010 Estonian adults, conducted in January 2009. No margin of error was provided.
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